


Raina Rogue

by catcusxx



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Book 5: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Like, Minor cannon disturbance, Multi, Order of the Phoenix (Harry Potter), Order of the phoenix and beyond, The main character NOT Draco Malfoy jesus, This dude can walk on walls, Unfortunatley Fred still dies, Veela, Very beyond, if i get to it, im sorry, kneazle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-03
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-10-03 09:16:24
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,326
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17281292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catcusxx/pseuds/catcusxx
Summary: Raina's not your typical Slytherin, but then again, is anyone?-Raina is a veela. She's also incredibly nosey, mildly infuriating and very, very, good at, well, pretending to be good.





	1. Chapter 1

YEAR ONE  
In Raina Oreloko's first year at Hogwarts, she was sorted into Slytherin and she was horrified. She’d grown up in a muggle setting and gone to a muggle school, although she’d known she was a witch all along. There she had gotten on well. Her town was small and her school was closely knit. She’d been the queen there – the popular girl, and it had come from being well liked. She didn’t think that would happen in Slytherin.  
She could feel the suspicions of the others students threatening to drown her, and for a while it almost had.  
Then she met Feron, another Slytherin. He was shy – she’d had to follow him around for days before he really spoke to her. There was a kind of hardness in his gaze, that left her in no doubt that when he wanted something he would work for it; now they were friends, they would stay that way.  
Although she talked to the other Slytherins, and occasionally people from other houses, it was the twins who really changed her way of thinking. The Weasley twins of course.  
They expected her to be evil, although they were nice to her on the train. The day they pranked her 'because she was a Slytherin' she decided she wouldn't let stereotypes stop her from being friends with everyone.  
Some she met in the library and tentatively helped study should they need it. Some she sat beside in class, dragging Feron behind her all the way.  
She had a kind of charisma to her. One that she didn't know at the time was supernatural. Later she would look at her first year self and wonder how genuine her popularity had really been.  
At the time, she was well liked and confident, but almost wouldn't have minded if she wasn't; she had Feron and she knew that he and Catrina would stand by her no matter what. It was a nice feeling, and even nicer to have someone know all of her.  
(She'd had to pretend more than once during her muggle schooling that she had no idea why things blew up or floated randomly)  
YEAR TWO  
In her second year Raina helped the new first years to the dorm. She knew the whole place looked creepy, so she and Fente, another Slytherin in her year, charmed bright yellowy orbs of light to float around the ceiling and the fire in the fire places to crackle a warm, glowy, orange rather than their previous green.  
One of the newly sorted first years was freaking out about being in Slytherin. Their brother was a Hufflepuff, they said, why were they the bad one?  
Raina softly explained the stigma surrounding the houses and to finally calm them down, she led them to one of the wide windows looking out into the lake. There she showed them the grindylows and occasional merfolk and taught them just how beautiful the common room was.  
She was surprised when one of them came to her for help - surprised and flattered. Some of the first years from other houses even approached her, despite the green tie, and she showed them to classes and helped them with homework.  
When Feron was not burying himself in his 'schoolwork' or hiding on the roof, Raina dragged him in. Out of their year group, he was the best at transfiguration.  
YEAR THREE  
This was the year Harry Potter came to Hogwarts, and the normalcy between houses slowly began to dissipate.  
Raina tended to sit with a mix of Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs then, although she was often joined by mutual friends and Maia Flitwick and Alicia Spinnet from Gryffindor.  
Raina chose Study of Ancient Runes and Care of Magical Creatures as her other subjects. She also skipped a year in history of magic because her muggle schooling had made essay writing easy, and despite Professor Binns droning voice, the content of the subject wasn't difficult.  
Because of this, her Transfiguration was with the Gryffindor's. It was there she sat with Maia and inevitably, the twins.  
She also led Feron into the Forbidden Forest to find werewolves and ended up finding a kneazle with a peculiar penchant for climbing. As mad as Feron was at Raina for dragging him out there, he and the cat were a good match, expecially since both liked to lie on roof tops.  
It was a skill Feron had been seemingly born with. More than once, Raina had walked in on him reading on the roof under the impression that he was on the floor. Feron was just that distracted; sometimes Raina was surprised he hadn't ended up with the dreamers in Ravenclaw.  
YEAR FOUR  
In year four Raina and Feron dated briefly. It was the kind of thing they kept quiet; an experiment. Nothing much changed, although they did discover that girls just weren't Feron's type. This began their game during lunch, where they rated different guys.  
It also begun Raina's attempts to drag Feron over to various groups of guys. He wasn't especially open with his sexuality, and Raina was content to help him keep it quiet. She herself eventually developed a crush on Cedric Diggory, who they had Herbology with.  
This was a much louder affair and for sometime they were something of a golden couple, although she was met with some contempt from the older Slytherins (She and Feron managed to wreak havoc in their dorms and their hair didn't loose the garish purple shade for months).  
Rather than drag him to the forbidden forest, Raina made them join the quidditch team. She was the only girl, and made chaser. Feron became a beater, and invaluable to the team.  
This seemed to finally bring him out of his shell, as despite their reputation, their team was very closely knit.  
There was however, the matter of Terrance, another guy in their year, being replaced by Draco Malfoy. It was Raina who found him after he stormed off when his position was replaced in favour of Draco Malfoy.  
He wasn't happy to see her at first - she'd made the team after all - but after a lengthy conversation and a promise to get Feron to beat the blonde over the head with a bludger, her assured her there were no hard feelings.  
(And she assured him that she would quietly make his life hell)  
YEAR FIVE  
Here it wasn't only puberty which (finally) hit Raina, it was her heritage. It started off with an enhancement of her ability to sense emotions and the occasional growth of talons and fangs. There was also the small matter of the wings which were (Thankfully) invisible when not extended.  
They sure didn't feel invisible, hence Raina's permission to go onto the grounds at night. While folded up, they ached and cramped. Whenever she stretched she had to make sure she didn't extend them, however much she longed to.  
She discovered she was part veela, and their ethereal beauty was locked as powerful magic inside her. She could access it whenever she wished, but she'd taken advantage of the prefects bathroom too see what she looked like with her 'glamour' on. It was perfect, but it wasn't her. She truly hated it. When she was little, her Grandfather had made her take self defence classes, and she'd learned how to fight. Now she understood why. She refused to use her glamour regardless, however. She hated it. She hated that once again she had a secret that she couldn't tell anyone - except for Feron, of course.  
She heard the news of her parentage from her grandfather (Who she lived with), it was through a letter, given to her and explained by Dumbledore.  
Yeah, her family was disappointing, but her one at school, her friends, left nothing to be desired.  
She was also made prefect, and managed to get the password changed from 'Pure-blood' to 'Demon' - Feron's cat, who'd become something of a mascot for Slytherin house, what with his love of jumping from the ceiling onto people's heads.  
Her night time flights were often accompanied with Feron, who used the time to improve his flying. Raina was especially nimble with her wings, and they joked about how easy quidditch would be if she could fly on the pitch.  
The nights he didn't fly with her, she explored the grounds. She met a Hippogriff and a curious black dog.  
It was here the presence of the twins began to bleed into her life more and more. The black dog was painfully skinny and Raina needed to feed it. She found the twins by tracking emotions through the castle, and got them to show her how to get into the kitchen despite the fact that it meant they would owe her a favour.  
It couldn't be that bad, right?  
Wrong.  
She found herself involved in numerous pranks and desecrating her newly earned role as prefect. Feron was there to do the right thing, she supposed.  
(Never mind the fact that he and Miles, the Slytherin keeper, were often found together in a dark corner of the dungeons despite the curfew)  
As well as the black dog (Who she strongly suspected was an Animagus and eventually figured out was Sirius Black by the jump in his emotions as she said his name), she discovered Professor Lupin was a werewolf when sent to his office by Professor Snape on a full moon. He no doubt expected her to tell everyone, but she mentioned it only to Feron.  
She enjoyed the late nights in the common room, even when she was studying. Sometimes she sat with the quidditch players, others Catrina's friend group (which Fente had finally joined despite Catrina's muggleborn status). Often she was content to curl up with Feron in their seats by the fireplace.  
She often kept tabs on the emotional status' of her house mates - she had a gift, she reasoned every time she had doubts, she might as well use it. She found it fascinating to focus on Marcus Flint as he was teased for being held back. While he laughed along, she could tell it bothered him. As nasty as he seemed while on the quidditch pitch, there were also nights where she sat with him and helped him with the work. This helped her in her own classes, as well as him. He seemed to have trouble reading, and Raina thought back to her time in primary school, where one of her friends had been dyslexic. She'd gotten a teacher-aid to read for her. At Hogwarts there was no support, and she wondered what he'd do if he finally managed to graduate.  
On top of her night-time escapades, adventures with the twins, and busy social life, she studied for her owls, neglecting ancient runes in favour of bringing up her grade in Herbology. She achieved O in transfiguration mainly due to Feron's tutoring, and gained one in each subject apart from Study of Ancient Runes. This didn't bother her as she'd set her sights elsewhere. It would also give her a free period to focus on History of Magic, as her she would be doing her NEWT for it in sixth year.  
Those holidays, before the Quidditch World Cup (Which she managed to buy tickets for), she received her results and a thank you letter from Marcus Flint, who she decided that despite his flaws, was not an entirely terrible person.  
In fact, when she and Feron met up with him at the cup, she was all too happy to say hello. In the cup itself, she danced with the veela and during the death eater march afterwards, she snatched the youngest child from the hair and barrelled into the forest, flying into none other than the twins and their sister.  
Of course, they could hardy miss the wings, but she handed them the child, and, bleeding from scratches all over her body, headed back up to help. When she finally landed with another of the children, it was Arthur Weasley who invited her back to the tent where they had essence of dittany to put over her many scratches.  
It was with extreme relief that she reacted when they agreed not to mention her wings to anyone. She was sure, in retrospect, that she could have put it down to partial transfiguration, but it was almost nice to have others know the truth and not react badly. She knew that as nice as a person may be, there were some things which changed them completely. For years she'd been friends with Fente, but watched her shun Catrina because she was a muggle born.  
YEAR SIX  
The Triwizard tournament spelled the beginning of another year of much chaos. She was outraged at the cancellation of the quidditch season - yet another way she connected with the twins.  
And of course there was the matter of her literally connecting with them. She was focused on Feron, who was walking along the roof and ranting to her about Miles. She had no focus on her surroundings and it showed as she barrelled into the twins, rushing around the corner. She realised Filch was close on the tails. Smirking she watched as the two boys tumbled into a broom closet and Filch came around the corner. He knew about her permission to go out at night but didn't like it.  
She'd expected him to glower at her and ask if the twins had gone that way. She hadn't expected herself to defend them. Feron glared at her but diffused Filch's suspicion - he seemed to be a favourite of the old caretaker's. Fred, in particular, made fun of Feron's sudden breaking of the rules, and both of them saw an easy advantage to Raina's freedom to walk the grounds at night.  
Raina also quietly watched Mad-Eye Moody, who's madness she recognized from somewhere deep in her consciousness. It was the kind of madness which hurt, and she found herself copying down Feron's defence against the dark arts notes after class when she could focus.  
She initially hated Fleur when the other schools arrived. After supressing her glamour for so long, it seemed wrong to see someone who wore it so freely. Their friendship was slow but became firm. Fleur could fly on the full moon, and it was then when they discovered the dragons and the focus of the first task.  
The yule ball brought many, many, people to bother Raina. Some she was able to turn down politely without causing a scene. Some wouldn't leave her alone. Cormac McLagan in particular, who'd gotten over his dislike of Slytherins to ask her out, took to following her between classes the spring the question on her. This prompted her to hide after class, finding herself in the same corridor as George Weasley. He helped her find a place to hide from passer-by and during that hour, they spoke a lot, and somehow, Raina landed herself a partner to the ball.  
Platonically, of course. She and Fleur had both been cautious about partners; neither of them had any desire for this dance to be taken the wrong way.  
Raina no longer blamed Fleur for letting her glamour show; she too had needed to learn to fight, and dealt with the dirty stares of older men when she'd first shown signs of her heritage at twelve.  
The ball was the second time Raina let out her glamour in public, just a little, and the first time she did it as herself. She knew she looked stunning - in the midnight blue dress that Miles had helped her chose and the piercings she and Maia had gotten together at Hogsmeade.  
Many of the girls in their year - from all houses - gathered in the prefects bathroom to get ready. Some came in after a morning in the snow, faces red from the cold. Others had spent the morning in face masks and painting nails. Raina was one of the former, but was glad for the latter group, who helped everyone.  
She joined Angelina Johnson in straightening their hair with a specially made potion. Fente and Catrina also helped her with makeup, using a mix of magic and muggle products. Her nails were charmed to match her dress, which in turn matched her eyes. The silver jewellery adorning her neck, wrists, and ears, later prompted Feron to joke that she would be safe from any Vampires.  
During the second task, Raina was asked to find the person the contestants valued the most. Some people were easy. She knew many people expected Fleur's person to be a boy, but Raina knew her sister held far more value to her.  
While watching the entertainment many of the quidditch players had put together while the contestants were under water, she wasted several of her pieces of popcorn as she threw them at George, who insisted on water related puns:  
'I wish I could sea what was going on'  
'Water you doing here?'  
'Dew you want more popcorn?'  
And  
'I don't know water problem is - I'm being the perfect gentleman.' (To Fred)  
When the contestants finally resurfaced Fred joked about Harry and Ron being 'especially close' (which did make sense, Raina supposed, as both Krum and Cedric were dating their people). It was then Raina realised Fred might be just slightly bi.  
She told Feron that night and her friend was just slightly too happy for him to sound uninvolved.  
Oh she was so locking them in a closet so they could come out of it together.  
During the third task she skimmed over the maze on McGonagall's orders, watching for red sparks. It was when she realised Krums mind had become a void that she knew something was very wrong. When she landed she sensed Sirius in his animagus form, watching from the stands. She may not have seen him for a long time, but she knew it was him.  
And then the fact clicked, just as the portkey appeared in the middle of the pitch and the anguish of Harry Potter ripped into her mind.  
There was a shadow in Sirius Blacks mind - the same one in 'Moody's'. The shadow brought from Azkaban, from the dementors.  
She and Fleur stumbled up, trying to find someone to talk to. He'd already taken Harry - there was no time. It was Bill Weasley to help them. Later Raina would see the way he and Fleur looked at each other. How he didn't see her as an object and how that in itself made Fleur appreciate him. The bar really had been low, but Bill, Fleur later told her, had brought it up impossibly high.  
It was their word that brought the Headmaster to Moody's office. Something in Professor Dumbledore's reaction told Raina he already knew exactly what was happening.  
By the end of the year, she was one of the ones that believed You-Know-Who was back. There was as much fear in Slytherin as there was anywhere else. It was only a select few that reacted as if Voldemort back was a good thing, and they were met with contempt.  
YEAR SEVEN  
That summer Raina got a summer job at a coffee shop, and that was where she was now.


	2. Chapter 2

Raina smiled at the boy sitting across from her. He’d made her curious at first, but, strangely enough, they simply didn’t have much in common. He liked gaming and soccer, and that wouldn't be so bad if he didn't always speak of it. Raina, for some strange reason, hadn't kept up with either of those trends, and she'd been willing to learn at first, but hadn't found it nearly as fun as watching muggle T.V. shows with Lola had been.   
Also, he was human. Usually that wasn’t a problem for Raina, she hadn’t seen many non-humans recently (except when she looked in the mirror), and he couldn’t exactly help it. His muggle status made little difference either, except for the fact that she could tell him nothing about her schooling or where she’d been her whole life.  
The lies just kept building up. Sometimes she forgot which story to stick to. Was she from Sweden this time? An exchange student? Did she have an accent?  
She couldn’t wait until school started.   
-  
When she finally left her mess of a date to finish her shift she decided that she didn't need money that badly. She had good broomstick (due to Draco Malfoy joining the Quidditch team) and she could fly perfectly fine without one. She didn't need a pet and her Grandfather usually helped out with the school supplies. Maybe the job was just work experience, although Raina had no intention of being a barista.   
While she had intended to work over summer, she hadn't intended to date. She never did, really, but at least there was no second guessing his feelings for her. She’d felt his admiration from across the shop, glancing up from his cup of coffee.   
She could do that by the way, except usually it wasn’t admiration people felt for her. That day, however, she’d been wearing her glamour.   
It was a veela thing.   
A three-quarters veela thing.  
Or maybe just a Raina thing. With her it was difficult to tell.   
It was a recent development, after all. Puberty had hit her like a truck, but the veela side of her had hit her like a bull enhanced with a bad engorgement charm. She’d had it under control for a while, but keeping that much magic locked inside yourself never ended well. The hallucinations hadn’t been so bad at first. When she’d started seeing spiders crawling under her skin and reality had become a strange, abstract, thing, she decided she’d let her glamour out.   
The thing with glamour was that it didn’t just make you beautiful. It made you flawless. Perfect. Irresistible to men and some woman. This was all fine and dandy if you were a full veela, who enjoyed stealing souls and used glamour for attempted world dominations, but it wasn’t exactly ideal for someone attempting only to finish her senior year.  
With top marks, of course.  
And then the news of the new Defence Against the Dark Arts professor came through. The letter was from Dumbledore directly, advising her to keep her half-breed status quiet.  
So from the sounds of it, that year Raina would be hiding her species, trying to get good grades, keeping up her prefect duties, and attempting to have some semblance of a social life even in the face of the inter-house conflict the whole 'revival of the dark lord' thing had brought up.  
But there was no way she’d end up involved in that, right?  
Then again, Raina was always involved one way or another. This year she wasn't sure who to blame. Perhaps it was Dumbledore, with his peculiar penchant for involving high school-age children. Perhaps it was the way she always seemed to figure things out. Either way, the letter Dumbledore had sent her also included instructions to be ready to be brought to 'The Order Of the Phoenix' for a few nights later that week.   
She had her overnight bag packed and had only just changed out of herwork uniform when the loud pop of apparators sounded outside her and her Grandfathers small house. It was George and Mr Weasley. She shouldered her bag and slipped out the door.  
Her house was small and crooked; the front porch had long been held up entirely by magic, and even then the roofing tiles could be heard thudding down during a storm. There was ivy growing everywhere and trailing through open windows. That too was magical, growing several centimetres each week. She was always surprised it hadn't swallowed up the house whenever she left it for more than a few days.  
She found her bag lifting off her back and into George's hands. His expression was half smirk, half smile, but Raina knew he was pleased to see her. She made a face; she'd forgotten the twins could use magic. She turned seventeen on the first week of September, and she'd never hear the end of it.   
The face she had made unwillingly broke into a smile and she waved brightly.   
"Sorry for bringing you out here. I could have flown but..."   
"Yeah, 'cause that's inconspicuous." George teased.  
"Actually," Mr Weasley said, "the headquarters location is top secret so we can't have it given away. We're going to apparate right onto the doorstep."   
Raina nodded in understanding. She wished she could apparate on her own as it was slightly more comfortable, but instead she grabbed onto George's offered hand, smiling goodbye at her Grandfather as, moments later, they were in a completely different part of England.  
“There’s probably something I should explain,” said George as Raina looked around the dreary streets, “but before that I should warn you, you need to be quiet or Mrs Black starts screaming.”   
She nodded, doing a double take at the last name. They entered the building where they were at once surrounded by an unfriendly, gloomy air. There was a single beam of sunlight filtering down from upstairs, illuminating the thousands of dust particles which danced in the air. Raina could instantly feel the emotions of the others in the house. Although it looked silent and abandoned, it was clearly full of people. A man stepped out of the room. He looked very different, his black hair much better kept and his face much less sunken.  
“Padfoot?” Asked Raina. It was indeed the black dog she'd fed in her fifth year. He'd mimed the name and it had stuck, although she eventually figured out his true identity.   
“Fly-girl!” He said, his face breaking into a grin.   
"You had months to think of a name for me and you chose that?” She teased.  
“You had wings and never told me your name."   
She realised this was true "Raina Oreloko." She provided.   
He grinned at her. “It’s good to see you.” He said, stepping in for a hug.   
“A puppy on the inside then.” Said Raina. “I’ve got to admit, you didn’t look like one last time I saw you.”   
She realised the others were looking between them incredulously. She'd never mentioned the fact that she had hung out with a convicted criminal, but even when she'd thought him to be a murder, she could feel his emotions and knew he wasn't - yet.  
“You know each other?” Asked Fred. Raina knew he was enjoying everyone's shock. He’d stepped out behind Sirius to say hello, presumably.  
As Raina was about to answer a horrible scream sounded behind her. She jumped. There were no emotions near her and she turned anxiously, disorientated. Mrs. Weasley pushed out behind Fred and Padfoot and hurried them into the kitchen, shutting the door firmly behind them.   
“That was the charming Mrs. Black.” George said, wincing.  
“Your mother?” Asked Raina, turning to Sirius.   
“Wonderful woman, isn’t she?” He said with a scowl.  
“Charming indeed.” Raina repeated absentmindedly, already scanning the others in the room. “Professor Lupin?” She asked, seeing the man she suddenly realized she should no longer call professor nearby.   
“I think Remus, now. Good to see you.” He held out his hand and Raina leaned across the table to shake it.  
She smiled brightly, “it is! I've missed you and your classes." Although tempted to make a joke about her preference of werewolves over crazy-criminals-who-resurrect-racist-serial-killers, she settled with an innocent smile.   
"So you know Sirius already?" Came a voice from across the table.   
Raina shrugged, "yeah, I met him on the grounds a couple years ago."  
"And you didn't see fit to mention it?" The man asked stonily.   
"I didn't know until near the end of the year. I knew he wasn't a real dog but..." She shrugged, unsure how to explain the strange feeling the mind of someone who'd been in Azkaban gave her.  
She got a better grip on her bag and Mrs. Weasley hurried her upstairs. "Don't mind Kingsley. He's an aura but with the Order."   
"Oh, right." Raina winced, realising she probably shouldn't have casually mentioned the fact that she'd found a convicted mass murderer before the ministry.   
She was sharing a room with Ginny, there were twin beds and Ginny's things were piled on the one nearest to the window. The hazy light made the gold of her Gryffindor scarf glow and bounced off her ginger hair as she sat up and put whatever book she'd been reading down.  
"Who else is here?" Raina asked curiously.  
"Hermione's the only other one living here. The actual members of the Order just drop by." She explained.   
“You should be helping making this place habitable,” Mrs. Weasley said, planting her hands on her hips. “Take some time to settle in, of course, Raina. Well be meeting the day after tomorrow. We had to bring you in early because Arthur's working tomorrow."   
"Thanks!" She said as Mrs Weasley bustled back out.  
Raina set her trunk down and popped it open, "how long have you been here?" She asked Ginny.  
“Only a few days.” She answered, standing up. Crookshanks hissed as he was forced off her knee. “Basically the adults whisper about important Order stuff and we clean stuff.”   
"Hopefully I haven't been invited here to clean things. I kind of wanted to go fight some death eaters."   
"None of your family are death eaters, right?" Ginny asked, a little anxious.   
Raina shook her head, "truthfully I think I'm in Slytherin because I'm ambitiously nosy. Most of the people in my year aren't related to death eaters."  
"Oh, sorry." She said. Her apology was genuine, and Raina was glad there was no further judgement of her house. It was lucky, really, because she'd brought her Slytherin scarf to wrap around one bedpost.   
“That's all good.” Raina said lightly. "Trust me, when I was put in Slytherin I thought there might be some death eater blood in me, but nope, it was actually Veela."   
Ginny laughed and opened her mouth to reply, but she was cut off as two loud bangs sounded in their room. Raina had her wand out ready to jinx whatever it was that had made the sound although she was not yet meant to use magic outside of school.   
“Woah.” Said Fred, holding up his hands.   
“Did no one tell you this house it literally under maximum security?” Said George.   
“Padfoot got into Hogwarts.” Raina pointed out.   
Ginny was glaring daggers at both of them. Raina joined her.   
“It was only apparating.”   
Raina put her hands on her hips. “So? I could have been naked or something.”   
She saw the twins exchange glances and made to throw her wand at them, laughing as the both ducked.   
“Honestly.” She said to Ginny.   
“There are more ways than one to get back at them.” The feisty red-head said. "Wait until school, when Mum's not around."  
Something is Raina's face must've shown when Ginny mentioned school, because George clasped her shoulder and asked playfully, "what's the matter? I thought you'd have been the kind to love going back to school. 'Specially when it involves revenge."   
"Not this year..." Raina said reluctantly. "Oh, but the revenge part sounds fun."   
"It always is." Ginny said, grinning.   
Fred answered back and the banter continued. Only George met Raina's eyes - he looked puzzled. Raina realised then she shouldn't have mentioned the coming school year and her little 'predicament'. It was when Ginny and Fred had left the room he asked the question;   
"So, is not wanting to go back to school a normal thing for you?" He asked.  
"You know it isn't." She muttered, looking out after George's siblings.   
"I try be subtle and you shoot me down." He protested.   
They were shoulder to shoulder after stepping back to let Fred and Ginny leave. She could feel his body heat as keenly as she could feel the concern flowing off him.   
Shrugging, she grins, "it really isn't your style."   
"You're right. What in Merlins name is bothering you about next year?"   
Raina opened her mouth to tell him the truth - and she ended up lying. "It's NEWT year, that's all. I want to do well, like, really well, and I didn't even pass Study of Ancient Runes."   
He watched her for a moment longer, before shrugging. Raina could tell he left the matter alone because of her reluctance to talk about it rather than her lack of concern. Sensing emotions was second nature to her, but there were a fair few moments she was glad others couldn't sense hers.  
That night she thought it might have been her guilt which interrupted her sleep; or maybe the way the moonlight danced across the roof a little too literally. When she finally sat up long after Ginny had fallen to sleep, she realised that it was someone else's emotional turmoil which was keeping her awake. She shook herself awake impatiently and tossed off her covers.   
It was when she padded downstairs she realised that the culprit wasn't in bed. Cautiously, she poked her head into the drawing room and found Padfoot - Sirius - standing and staring at a tapestry.   
He jumped when he saw her, and then relaxed a little. "What are you doing up?" He asked.   
Raina shrugged, not wanting to tell him that it was he who was keeping her awake. "I was just getting water."   
"Kitchens that way." He said, pointing at the door. "And then left."   
Raina turned to go, and then hesitated, "are you okay?" she asked.   
"I'm not in Azkaban-" she felt the fear which fluttered through him at the word, "which mean's I should be..."   
"But?" She prompted when he trailed off and turned back around to look at the tapestry again.   
"This house was my own personal hell." He said.   
Something in the way he said 'was' made Raina suspect that it hadn't changed. She didn't need to look back out at the mummified house elves or the burn marks on the tapestry to know that for any child the house would hold few happy memories. She also knew that for Sirius it was more than mere memories.  
"I want out." He said suddenly, although Raina knew this was far from the first time he'd wanted that or the first time he'd voiced it.   
She shrugged, "c'mon then."   
"I've tried." He said, frustrated. "And I shouldn't go against Dumbledore-"   
Raina frowned at the mention of her headmaster.  
"You don't like him." Sirius realised.   
"I don't agree with him." She corrected, as if he were wrong.   
He'd zoned out, she could tell, his eyes back on the tapestry. "Let's go get some fresh air at least. Does this place have a balcony?"   
"There's a window in my bedroom." He said, tearing his eyes away. "I enlarged it in my second year."   
"How'd you get away with magic?" Raina asked.  
"No one checks families like mine for things like that," he said. His tone was only a hint bitter, but Raina knew it ran deeper than that.   
She followed him up the stairs, ignoring the empty, staring eyes of the dead house elves. His bedroom was a mess, and he kicked his things aside to reach the window, flinging it open wide. Raina took in the proud, Gryffindor colouring of her room, very different to the one she and Ginny were staying in, before looking out over London.  
"I'm sure we could find a way for you to come out." Raina said after a long moment of silence.  
Sirius sighed, "that would be nice - if it were possible."   
"Ginny and I are going to go shopping in the muggle world tomorrow." Raina decided, "I have muggle money I haven't yet converted into wizard money... We can go get food - take our dog for a walk."   
"I still can't get out of the house." He said.  
Raina grinned slightly, "leave that to me."  
"Do I want to know what that means?" Sirius asked.   
"Nope." She said, settling down beside him. He was a strange man, and his emotions were a tangle which bothered her deeply. She had met very few people who's fears stemmed directly from their childhood; people changed; Fears changed. Yet here he was, in his old room, and she could tell that the way he felt in this house now was very, very similar to the way he'd felt as a child. She wondered if Dumbledore knew this he would lift Sirius' sentance.  
Although he said nothing more for several minutes, Raina could feel the mood change. Perhaps it was the fresh air or the noises of the city at night filtering through the window, but Sirius' shoulders relaxed.   
"You're wise for your age." He said.   
"I have an advantage." Raina admitted, "I can kind of... Sense emotions."   
"Does it come with the wings?"   
"Not always, but I got the wings, the emotional radar and I'm fireproof, which is always useful. As long as you an handle the hallucinations and judgement of random family members." She said, slightly bitterly.   
"Learn to ignore the random family members." He advised her.  
"You did?" She guess.   
"I tried. It's never as easy as it sounds." His gaze flicked downstairs, "but... You find other things that matter."  
"Your friends, right? Harry's dad and Remus..."   
"And Peter - or so I thought. But..." He paused for a long while, his eyes unfocused, "he mattered as much as the rest, really, even if he didn't think it."   
"It was him, wasn't it?" she said.   
He stood up and Raina dropped her thought's on the matter.  
"We'll get you outside tomorrow." She said, before remembering she was in his room and standing as well.   
"Thank you." He said.   
She nodded to him and slipped outside. He was still troubled, there was no doubting that, but the thoughts he was thinking now couldn't worm their way into his mind quite so easily. There were times when she wished they couldn't at all, and he mind would be her own for once. This, she reflected as she climbed tiredly into bed, was one of those.  
-  
Raina hadn't betted on Dumbledore being there the next day. She exchanged a glance with Sirius and then determinedly stood up. She would make him understand. Or she would follow him meekly to the next room and send him annoyed glances until she finally got him alone.   
"You wanted to talk?" He offered.  
"Yes." She said, glancing at the time. It was already much later in the day than she'd expected. "It's about Sirius."   
He nodded, his eyes boring into her through his half-moon glasses. She found conversing with him disconcerting, because he was a blind spot to her 'emotional radar'. She hadn't the faintest clue as to what he was thinking or feeling neither on his face or in his mind.   
"I think you should let him go outside." She said. There was no point dancing around the fact; despite her cluelessness to his thoughts, he did seem to know an awful lot al about what everyone was thinking.   
"Do you, perhaps, believe that his want to go outside overrules to need for him to stay safe?" Dumbledore asked.   
Raina met his eyes squarely and said, "yes. I know that you know a lot about people but you can't feel what he feels. He remains inside because he respects you but-"   
"Very well."   
She paused, unsure of what this meant.   
"Your opinion is valued, here." He said, "in Order business and otherwise. You have good judge of character, Raina." He said.   
"I have the right tools." She agreed.   
"It is a large part of the reason you were made prefect. Miss Blessed was considered but she has certain... Prejudices."   
"Had." Raina corrected. "Fente wrote to me saying that although she had to force her parents into it, she's staying with Catrina for a few days."   
"Very good." He said. "And who will accompany Sirius and yourself?"   
"I asked Ginny this morning." Raina admitted.  
"Before you asked me?" Dumbledore asked lightly, humour twinkling in his eyes.  
"It was... Foresight?" Raina offered, eager to get outside.   
"You may have to coerce Molly into allowing her daughter to go." Dumbledore warned.   
"She's already on it." Raina said, slipping back out. It didn't take her long to find Sirius, and she found Ginny merely by following the buzz of conversation.  
"The whole neighbourhood is unsafe!" Mrs Weasley was saying. Raina felt new appreciation of Ginny as she shrugged at met her mothers gaze squarely.  
"I know my way around a muggle town." Raina cut in. "We'll be fine."   
Mrs Weasley looked between them before finally saying, "you should have an adult with you."   
"Got that part sorted." Sirius said.   
She looked between the three of them, her eyes narrowed. Raina knew if she decided they should go, they wouldn't. There was no defying Mrs Weasley after all. Raina would much rather fight a dragon with a stick or punch you-know-who in the nose.  
Oh. Wait.  
"He has my permission, Molly." Dumbledore said.   
"Oh, all right." She relented.   
"Great!" Raina said, stepping towards the door.   
"Quietly!" Mrs Weasley warned.   
Raina stepped gingerly into the entryway. Ginny followed suit and Sirius padded alongside her, already in his Animagus form. The streets outside were crowded by houses, but sunlight filtered down. It illuminated dust particles floating in the air and the rumble of traffic was so faint that everything seemed quiet and muffled.  
The area might have once been a wealthy one but now graffiti decorated the walls and the air stank of stale cigarettes. �"I can see why Mum said this area was dodgy." Ginny said.   
"Let's go somewhere nicer - find a café which let's dogs in."   
Sirius woofed and moved ahead, his claws clicking on the tarmac.   
"Do you have money?" Ginny asked. "For food? Because I don't have muggle money - but I can pay you back!"   
Raina knew money was a sensitive topic by the defensiveness welled up in her mind.   
"Yeah, I actually worked for a lot of the holidays in a local café so I have enough money for food and... I don't know, wherever we go I guess."   
They came across a cat café that Raina made note of, hoping to one day go there with Feron. Although Raina jokingly went to convince the staff that Sirius was an especially well behaved dog, Sirius couldn't resist baring his teeth at one of the cats in the window; the cat didn't budge.   
"You're loosing your touch." Raina told him.  
When they did find a pet friendly one, Raina slipped a menu under the table for Sirius to chose from. His mood had improved further the moment they'd entered and smelt coffee and fresh baking. It wasn't as if Grimmauld place never smelt of good food - what, with Mrs Weasley's baking - but the atmosphere of the café was altogether different. Raina supposed nobody there was concerned about an upcoming war.  
And there weren't dead house elves mounted on the walls.   
Sirius led them to a park after they'd eaten. The chains on the swings had rusted and the see-saw squeaked horribly, but Sirius gambolled into the area, his tail wagging.   
"You wanna stay here?" Raina asked.  
Sirius glanced around, raising his nose to the air. In a swirl of smoke he rose to stand in his human form.   
"You girls go explore." He offered. "I'm sure many of the shops won't be pet free either."   
Raina hesitated, but she could tell he was reliving old memories, perhaps even, Merlin forbid, happy ones.  
"Okay, don't get picked up by dog control." She said, hopping over the boarder of the park.   
"Where will we go?" Ginny asked.   
"I was thinking we look at clothing and makeup and - Ooh! I'll show you this awesome thing - called a pen! Like a quill but you don't have to dip it in ink."   
"Don't let the twins get wind of it." Ginny said, "they'll sell them as ever-lasting quills or something."   
"What a concept! I haven't really used them because it's just so fun to write with a quill! But I've seen a lot of muggle borns using them recently and I figured it was a good idea."  
"We can distribute them for a knut per pen."   
"They do come in packs of ten. I thought you said it was the twins who'd sell them?"   
"I bet we can do a better job."  
"Oh yes," Raina said, stepping inside a stationary shop.  
"Those doors opened - by themselves!" Ginny said as she followed her in.   
"Don't stand long or they'll close on you!" Raina warned.   
There was nothing quite like the muted chatter in a shop like this. They brought so many pens the cashier probably grew concerned, and Raina got herself the largest notebook she could find.   
"They make notes easier to find than on tons of roles of parchment. Want one?" She asked Ginny.�Ginny hesitated, looking longingly at the book. It was spiral bound with emerald green designs over a white background.  
"When's your birthday?" Raina asked.   
"Eleventh of August." Ginny answered, puzzled.   
"I missed it!" Raina said, picking up a second note book, "so... Happy Birthday!" She didn't mind buying for Ginny although she would never asked her to. She liked the girl and the way that she seemed simply not to care what people thought of her. It was a quality Raina wished she had, but no, she would rather go crazy than let people see she was a soul stealing beauty.   
They'd see she was crazy eventually, of course, but Raina was also a procrastinator.   
"Thanks!" Ginny said as they left the shop.   
"No problem!" Raina said sincerely. She glanced at her watch and then back in the direction of the park. "We still have about an hour. Let's go look at clothes - I want new boots and shorts! Decent shorts! All that's being sold where I live is denim."   
Ginny followed her as Raina found a place which sold clothes. After buying herself some brown ankle boots (with heels so low she could walk in them without using her veela grace) they found a chemist. Raina found her perfume there. She'd made her last bottle last since her first year and although she used little, she liked the subtle, vanilla scent.   
"You want anything?" She asked when she found Ginny shooting glances at the makeup.   
"Oh, no! I don't really like this stuff."   
"I used to say that." Raina said, examining a bottle of nail polish. "People have it in their heads that being girly means you're weak."   
"With six brothers it was kind of their reason for teasing me." Ginny pointed out.   
"A lot of the guys at my school made fun of me when I wore my hair down. That may have been because it looked like a literal dragons den, but I managed to punch 'em without ruining my 'style'."   
"I'm open to trying things but I don't want to go buying if I don't know if I'll like it."   
"Don't worry, when we get home we can play with the stuff I have. We have a similar colouring so my foundation should work."   
The two girls did indeed look similar. Raina's hair was much lighter, almost blonde, and much more wild. Ginny had brown eyes which were deceptively soft and glowed in the sunlight. Raina had a few inches of height on her, which was thankful considering she was a few years older. Ginny had freckles dotting her face and shoulders while Raina had a spattering across the bridge of her nose and forehead. Her skin was darker than Ginny's only slightly.  
They started back to the park where Sirius was sitting. Raina was, for a moment, worried that he was impatient. It was almost dark, after all. Instead she found his mind calm although his tail wagged when he saw her. They walked home along the same route, but during dusk it seemed much more forbidding.   
The highly saturated sunlight only just touched the rooftops. Below that there could be anything lurking in the many shadows.   
In busy places Raina tried her hardest to ignore the many emotions which passed her by. They became background noise and except for in large, excited crowds, it was possible to ignore them.   
Perhaps, however, it was not smart to ignore the only other emotions in their immediate area. Raina supposed they made good targets - her with an armful of shopping and Sirius being almost out of sight. He growled when the thug pointed the gun, but by then there were three other people to back him up.   
"The dog attacks and we shoot." He said, cocking the gun. "Your money."   
She saw, from the corner of her eyes, Ginny reaching for her wand.   
"Not in front of the muggles." She reminded her.   
"Got a better idea?" Ginny asked.  
"As a matter of fact..."  
"People have tried things before, how do you think that went for them?" One of the woman backing him up said darkly.   
Raina let her glamour flash through, enough the confuse the man with the gun. She used his lack of focus to dart forwards and grab the gun. The cold metal dug into the palm of her hand so she slipped it into the shopping bag.   
"You know how to punch?" She asked Ginny, already ducking the mans next attack. She slammed her knee into his stomach, winding him. She felt his pain receptors fire as the nerves she'd hit burned. Flipping him over one hip she countered the next attack from the woman. Sirius was nipping at ankles and attacking just slightly too strategically for a normal dog. Their would-be muggers had bigger things to worry about, however, such as a certain Weasley, who'd flung herself into the fight and clipped the jaw of her opponent so hard Raina was sure he'd see stars.  
"Where's the fourth one?" She asked, looking around wildly as another of their opponents were knocked out of the fight.  
"What fourth one?" Ginny panted. "There were only three." She whirled around to punch the last one, but he was already running away with considerably well chewed ankles.   
Raina already knew why Ginny had seen no fourth one; because there hadn't been one. That was the thing with going mad, reality was always bending in new, subtle ways.   
Squeezing her eyes shut, Raina nodded. "Trick of the light." she muttered lamely.   
Sirius huffed to get their attention and led them home.   
"So, do we mention the whole fight?" Ginny asked.   
"Chances of going outside again if we do?" Raina asked.�"About three percent."   
"Exactly. If you're comfortable not saying anything then..."   
"I'm all good with that." Ginny said lightly. "Sirius?"   
The black dog jerked his head to the fast approaching door of his house.   
"Right. You should teach me how to fight like you." Ginny added to Raina.   
Raina shrugged, "Grandpa made me take self-defence classes before I went to Hogwarts. When Fleur and I met up last year we practiced together."   
"What is it with veela knowing self-defence?" Ginny asked as they stepped up onto the porch.   
"Grandpa didn't know I wouldn't use my glamour when I was small. It can be... Difficult to stave off attention if we do use it. Fleur's had to punch quite a few guys."   
Raina shut her mouth as they entered the house. She wasn't sure if it was the gloomy atmosphere or the mention of what Fleur, in particular, had to put up with, which dropped the mood.  
Sirius shifted back and nodded to them.   
"I'm sorry to have put you in danger." He said.  
"It wasn't your fault!" Ginny cut in before Raina could say anything. "Besides... No one has to-" She cut off abruptly. "Oh no. I am not going to say that sentance. Whenever I do, Mum pops up out of no where and finds out everything."   
"What exactly is everything?" Came Mrs Weasley's voice as the door to the kitchen creaked open.  
"That I spent fifteen pounds on food." Raina said quickly. "But... Muggle money works differently."  
"Alright." Mrs Weasley said. Her suspicions had by no means abated, Raina could tell. "And what did you get, Ginny dear?"   
Raina realised Ginny was still holding the bag.   
"Raina brought me a notebook - for my birthday." She showed her mother the book and explained what that, and the pens, were.   
Then, they headed upstairs where Ginny could run her bruised knuckles under cold water.  
"So, did you really get up to nothing?" Fred asked as he and George appeared in their room with a pop.   
"What could we possibly have done?" Raina asked. She tipped out the bag to show them the pens, and the gun she'd stolen off their would-be muggers clattered onto the floor.   
"What's that?" George asked, reaching for it.  
"Don't touch that!" Raina ordered, snatching it up and taking a moment to figure out how to unload it.   
"Isn't that the... In fifth year, the Minister told the muggles that Sirius was carrying one of these."   
"Ah. Maybe?" Raina said. "There may have been some slight trouble."   
"She punched someone in the face." Ginny said, entering the room with a cloth around her knuckles.   
"That was all you." Raina said. "I just kind of..."   
"Threw someone into the ground. It was badass." Ginny said enthusiastically. "You'll have to teach me."   
"Don't do that!" Fred joked. "She'd beat us into a pulp."   
"Only when you deserve it." Ginny said sweetly.   
"So what have you been doing in the holidays then?" George asked.  
"I've known how to throw someone since I was eight." Raina deadpanned. "My holidays were much more boring. Working. Dating. Flying..."   
"Hold up - dating who?" Fred asked, shooting a sidelong glance and George.  
"Lachie - he's this muggle guy who practically lives at the café I worked at. It has arcade machines in the back."  
"What kind of a name is Lachie?" George asked, wrinkling his nose playfully.   
"It's a lot more common in the muggle world than... Say... Cedric."   
"I forgot about that." Fred said thoughtfully. "And didn't you date Feron in fourth year?"   
"That's pretty much my history thank you."   
"And you went to the yule ball with George." Fred reminded her.  
"Yeah... Well... That wasn't-"   
"I can't believe her love life is more interesting than the fact that she can kick ass with minimal effort." Ginny said.   
Raina debated arguing the fact that she'd just included George in her 'love life' but decided against it. No point drawing attention to the fact, right?  
"Who say's the two aren't the same?" She settled on. "I had to practically throw McLagan into the wall to get him to leave me alone."   
"He's going to try out for quidditch this year." George said thoughtfully.   
Raina slid the gun under her bed and stretched out. "Hope he gets in." She said.   
"Does Slytherin need an advantage this year?" Fred asked.   
"We never need one. Well, we might need a competent seeker..."   
"Glad to see you admit it."   
"Please." Raina said. "The whole team dislikes Malfoy. He's popular in his group of... What... Three friends? Only."   
"You mean you don't have a hive mind?" George asked.   
"Only when it comes to getting midnight snacks." Raina said.   
"I wondered why you wanted to know how to reach the kitchen." Fred said.   
"Aren't you a prefect?" Ginny asked knowingly.   
"Okay first, I wanted the kitchen so I could feed Sirius-" She may have used it for snacks after... "and second, I'm a wonderful prefect. Barely ever break the rules."  
"And I am a good student." George said.  
Both their statements did sound slightly ludicrous. Still, Raina couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts, where she could continue to be a horrible prefect, although hopefully also a good student. To both the twins and Ginny's incredible jealously, she sat in on her first Order meeting that night - She thought it was jealously at least.  
She listened quietly as they discussed getting the word that you-know-who was back, out. Finally she was included.   
"The ministry is keeping an especially close eye on Hogwarts." Remus said.   
"I got Professor Dumbledore's letter." Raina said, nodding at him.   
"You happen to be in a good position to watch the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher."   
"Because I'm a Slytherin?" Raina asked before she could stop herself.   
"Yes, Miss Oreloko." Dumbledore said calmly.   
"This was why you asked me to keep my identity a secret." She realised aloud. He nodded in confirmation. "So she's got something against 'half-breeds' and yourself... She has an important position in the ministry and is loyal to Fudge..."   
"What prompts you to say that?" Kingsley asked. Raina knew he was testing her.   
"Because he's the one who really want's you-" She nodded at Dumbledore, "-out of Hogwarts, because you're saying you-know-who's back, right?" She knew she was by the affirmation in their minds before anyone could even nod their heads.   
"I don't understand why they don't want people to know." She admitted finally.   
"It is fear, Raina." Remus said. "The same fear which brought about anti-werewolf laws and pushed people apart during the last wizarding war."   
In Remus's calm, slow, tone, things were clear. Raina nodded.  
"Shouldn't I also be helping to spread the word that you-know-who is back?" She asked.  
"You need your position to be secure." Kingsley said. "That may involve slighting friends that the new teacher disagree's with." He warned.   
Raina sighed. This would, without a doubt, mess up her social life; pity, it had been going so well. It was only high school, however. Her Grandfather had told her nothing about her heritage but she'd grown up on stories of the first wizarding war. Every tale had been bloody and full of death and with another looming overhead, her ambitions to destroy the Slytherin stereotype suddenly seemed pointless. There were bigger things at stake.  
"So you're a spy now?" Ginny asked when Raina found them cleaning in a large, library like room.  
"How do you-"   
George flashed her what looked like an ear on a string. "Extendable ears." He explained.   
"What?"   
"We slide them under the door and listen in." Fred said.�"You do what?" Mrs Weasley asked. She'd clearly come to check in on them.   
George swiftly pocketed the ear but Mrs Weasley wasted no time in summoning it to her. "Where are the rest?" She demanded.   
"This is just a prototype. There are no more." Fred said, shifting nervously. Clearly Mrs Weasley was about to go into 'Angry Mum' mode.   
"You tell me the truth right now!" She said, advancing on them. It was almost funny to see the twins to nervous.   
(Actually it was funny, Raina and Ginny had to avoid eyes to stop themselves from laughing)  
Two hours and several strange hiding places later, Mrs Weasley had a handful of extendable ears and the twins had an earful of why it was a terrible idea to spy on top secret meetings.   
"I guess that's that product down." Raina said as they followed her and Ginny into their room.   
"Don't worry." Fred said in a low voice.   
"They hid a bunch under my mattress - mum wants to believe I'm too good to join in with them."  
"A terrible mistake." Raina said gravely.   
-  
She spent another day with the Order and was allowed to stay for however long she wanted. However, the news of Harry Potter being attacked by dementors came through, and after receiving a letter from Fleur asking if she wanted to meet at Diagon Alley, Raina insisted it was no trouble to fly herself home.   
Raina first arrived at Gringotts to exchange her muggle money for wizard money. She found Fleur hovering near the entrance talking to Bill Weasley. The two of them were deep in conversation and very, very, happy. They weren't together, not yet. Raina could see that in their body language rather than their emotions; their emotions were those of two people in love.   
She made to slink back around the corner, but Bill, who was facing her, waved her over.   
"Raina! I thought you were staying with my family?"   
"I thought I'd spend the last few weeks of the holidays with my Grandfather." Raina explained.  
"Ow are you?" Fleur asked .   
"Good!" Raina said brightly, "I need to head into Florish and Blott's next door for my school books, but we can meet up after if you two want some time alone." She looked between them suggestively.   
"We're good-" Bill started to say.   
"You do not mind if 'e comes?" Fleur asked. The question was genuine; she would leave Bill behind if Raina said no.   
But of course, she had sensed their chemistry from across the room, she might as well have fun with it.   
"Not all! I just need to grab my things and then we can go get ice cream or something." With a wicked grin that only Fleur saw, she then asked, "so, how long have you been dating?"   
"We're not." Bill said, scratching the back of his neck.  
"Yet." Fleur added, seeing Raina's game. Bill did a double take at that. Raina made no further comment and led them out of the bank.   
They steered their way through the crowd, but Raina was attuned to their emotions only. Bill was confused now. She supposed it made sense; he was confident enough to talk to women but too nice to assume they felt anything for him. She supposed that was why Fleur liked him; he'd become her friend without any ulterior motives.   
After getting her school supplies they made it to Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour. She'd been catching the two stealing glances at each other the whole trip. On arriving, she pretended, or maybe was, distracted by a familiar face.  
Although the parlour was busy, a certain face amongst the crowd caught her attention.   
"You two wanna get a table?" She offered, weaving towards the face. "Marcus!" She called, waving at her former house mate. "Do you work here?"   
"For a while." He said, "Florean offered me a job after I passed last year. I got time off to see the quidditch cup and everything."   
"How's it been with your family?" Raina asked. In retrospect asking about someone's family rarely brightened the conversation.There were only so many answers one could give, after all. There was 'good', 'they hate me' and 'they're all dead'.  
"They aren't thrilled." Marcus admitted. "Apparently becoming a better person means I'm a worse son but I'm working on it." �"You should be proud." Raina said. "I almost envy you - no more school, and you get to work at an ice-cream parlour."   
"It's good," he said, "a little boring really, but I guess in Diagon Alley things are never really monotonous."   
"Will you keep working here?" Raina enquired.   
"Since my parent's cut me off... But when school starts it's the quiet season and I might travel or something."   
"I want to do that when school ends. And get a job, I guess, although I have no idea what I want to do." Raina said thoughtfully, glancing back over at her cousin and her (soon-to-be) boyfriend. It was a pity playing matchmaker wasn't a job - she would do well there.   
Marcus glanced back towards the counter where his boss was beckoning him over. Raina waved goodbye, and, after an ice-cream, Fleur and Bill's break was over.  
"I'll see you later!" Raina told them. She needed to find a quiet back alley to stretch her wings. Flying with the amount of books she had would be difficult, and she couldn't even use magic to lighten the load, but after her week cooped up in Grimmauld (Minus the whole robber incident), it would be good to stretch her wings.   
She found herself a few turns away from Knockturn alley and decided the side street full of service doors would have to do. She'd worn a backless t-shirt so now her wings could stretch out and touch open air. Tensing her other muscles, Raina tapped herself with her wand for a disillusionment charm. Diagon alley was so busy a single spell could hardly hurt. Besides, she'd get in a lot more trouble if the muggles saw her.  
She flapped several times before pushing herself off the ground and twisting so she her wings didn't hit the wall. Once she was in open air, her wings could make long, unrestricting sweeps, pushing her higher than ever. With a flick of her wrist she opened the compass the twins had brought her the previous Christmas. For her it was far more useful than a watch. It didn't even matter than they'd charmed the Gryffindor Lion on the front to annoy her.  
(She'd gotten them each a note book for their order forms which switched to Slytherin colours whenever they weren't looking anyway)  
Raina stopped ascending near the cloud layer and set off in the direction of home. Below the city became country side and the teeming mass of muggle cars and buildings ceased. Now there was only the occasional vehicle skittering along below her along the few ribbons of grey separating the emerald green fields.  
She was so near the cloud layer that thousands of miniscule droplets of water dampened her face and hair. They clung on even though the speeds Raina was going meant the wind tore at her clothing and almost sucked her breath away.   
It wasn't the speed that meant she'd reach her destination far quicker than she would over land, it was the fact that she could by-pass the forests and hills and fly straight as a crow. Once her fingers had frozen up, she dived lower and keenly felt the change in air temperature, warming as she neared the ground. The dive brought her speed up even more, and although she couldn't breathe, she found fierce joy welling up in her stomach. Flight was a beautiful thing after all.   
The cluster of houses which was her home town arose suddenly, but she kept flying until she was on the outskirts. Her own house was small with four rooms. It was so swamped in ivy that it would be difficult to spot for anyone else but Raina glided in smoothly, hovering above the ground for a moment so she lost her momentum. Her legs still shook when she touched down but she was home.   
Rather than unpacking, Raina arranged all of her school books in the trunk and closed it ready to go. School was still a week away but she was eager to go.   
Her Grandfather would be home later on; he did maintenance jobs for several muggles, and used magic when they weren't looking. Some days he spent in their gardens, which were immaculate despite the houses overgrown nature. He grew potatoes and peas all year round and the roses were always blooming. Raina liked to make rose water from them, because the fragrance would always remind her of home.  
A week later and it was finally time for her to go. Her Grandfather saw her off, and charmed her trunk to fly behind her. He hadn't driven her to Hogwarts since first year. Before she could fly she'd taken a taxi and left him to pay the bill. Although she arrived at the station wind blown and slightly damp, she was in much higher spirits than she had been then.   
(Then Catrina reminded her dolefully that this was their last year at Hogwarts)  
She made her way to a cabin conatining a combination of people she once would have thought especailly odd - The twins, Feron, Fente, and Catrina. Raina only sat with them for a few seconds before Feron dragged her to the prefects carriage, but already her spirits were lifted.   
Sure, the whole thing with the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor, but this lot would always be her friends.


End file.
